Wednesday 2x04 Full Reaction!
Added 2025-09-17 19:37:58 +0000 UTC
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Well, there’s dead and there’s only mostly dead. And though you know the outcome wouldn’t be that someone goes through Wednesday’s clothes to look for loose change, there is still the fun of seeing how she comes back. Catherine O’Hara would have been grand as Grandmama. Loved seeing Jackie Hoffman in the role in the Broadway preview in Chicago. Soon as I heard the casting of Joanna, I became ecstatic, and good to see her work with Tim Burton again following Corpse Bride. Aunt Spiker, incidentally, was my introduction to her back when I saw that movie in the theater when I was five. Love her and Miriam Margolyes as Spiker and Sponge in that movie. Joanna is hitting the right notes of not quite letting you get a good handle on her right away. Love her and Catherine doing good work, and all the rewatch bonus it provides on top of the great new dynamic. The heinous feeling, by the way, is why I’ve avoided the so OBVIOUS references that the show practically serves up on a silver platter, vis-à-vis the songs they’ve had Billie singing, beyond the notes I’ve made saying I refuse to touch them for how easy the jokes are. Great to have the expanded showcasing of Uncle Fester. Knew he’d appear, but that felt a given this season unlike last season, there was question about it, and I got spoiled twofold, leading me to yell, “Ya JERKS!!!” at a few people that spoiled. The kid playing young Uncle Fester was a hoot. Only caught Tim as the parrot during the credits; could hear it more in the audio in the reaction. (Considering how fast he dropped Jeffrey Jones over a decade before MeToo, I’d say we’re probably in the clear on that one, though I certainly take your point.) Hearing the Scene D’Amour in the theater, and that entire scene when I caught the sixtieth anniversary rerelease, that was one of the BEST things ever in a theater. Haven’t seen The Artist in thirteen years, so I actually forget when and where the Scene D’Amour was featured in that one. Here, it’s featured SO PERFECTLY. Well, Wednesday and Enid need to definitely admit their feelings. Agnes is thirteen, so we put a hold on that one. Veronica Mars is another show I’m behind on. I was just happy to go along with the ride, like how Jess does: the show will answer the mystery, I’ll wait and see. See we both have the similar thing of deducing it’d be Heather’s character. Like I said, it felt too similar to how Christina just kept popping up last season as Laurel despite no real character focus or arc, and this would have been the case even if Thora had played Laurel. Even the novelty of it being Christina only allowed a leeway of subterfuge. Here at least they didn’t stretch it out TOO much. We both clocked the red herrings with my mind going to Hot Fuzz which further gave the game away. Uncle Fester did come out to play with the dynamite. A move that yeah, Randy would not foresee. Judi does get a bit of a start from that, but she has nothing to worry about with the kaboom. An explosion like that that has you flying, the fall’ll probably kill ya. Yeah, Christina does disappear into this and sheds the image of Wednesday, save for the two moments that I draw attention to that feels like the show winking. Love how we both sneak in a reference at that spot, with you going with the good one that the appropriate response is, “Barry, please.” and/or, “Forget it, Barry, you’re out of your element!” It is a shame that Laurel is now dead. Even with the lingering shot, I still note the not impossible thing of the claws could have missed her vital organs, and she could make a quick recovery at Our Lady of the Worthless Miracle. Or as the crew is in favor of getting Christina back for more, we could have the rug pull that she’s well versed in secrets only the Sith knew. The song, I’m just not overfond of as it does get overplayed as of this time of year. And given why it’s prominently played at this time of year, I can understand the band’s being irked about that. That is the good benefit of Jess being behind, and I timed my viewing of the show around that for the same reason, so it works out well. I know the one spoiler because evidently, it was in the trailer, which I did not see, yet the internet is unkind, just as the thumbnails on youtube gave away the game of something big that, well, I don’t know, but I got a pretty good goddamn idea it ties to the episode you refer too. And again, the internet is loud about who Jess is waiting for in this show, so I know that one, if not the specifics.
Thomas Corp
2025-09-18 00:38:23 +0000 UTCI'm choosing to believe Dort's power is an ironic reference to Buscemi being a volunteer firefighter who even saved people on 9/11. So which would be worse between her Mission Impossible 2 role or "The racist cop who molested you just saved your life, so you can't be mad at him anymore." God, I hate that movie, and I'm supremely grateful Westworld seems to have permanently raised her out of that kind of thing. I did think a few times "Stop calling yourself his mother. I know it's obscene, even if I can't explain why." If she does come back, I hope it's just to develop past that.
Ryan
2025-09-17 23:50:15 +0000 UTCYeah, they actually thought "Is Wednesday dead?" would have us hooked for a month. Though I guess the multiple ways already established of coming back from did raise some question of how long it would stick. After discarding Anjelica Huston for not fitting the show's pattern of super casual use of legacy actors, next on my wish list as long as Burton was pulling from his old pool was Catherine O'Hara. But Aunt Spiker certainly makes a good showing too, up there with Steve Buscemi's work in never letting you feel like you have a handle on who she is just yet. And maybe while she's here, she can let Capri know about the sonic screwdriver's three settings (saying that felt heinous, but the setup was just RIGHT THERE). Also great to see Catherine Zeta Jones get to play this whole new dynamic that adds a bunch of context to her interactions with Wednesday going back to last season. I had my issues with Fester last season, but Fred's now fully won me over and owns every second he's on screen here. Also digging the kid they got to play young Fester and I hope he goes on to big things. We also get another cameo not drawing any attention to itself with Tim Burton voicing the parrot, and it's nice to have a creator appearance as a bird on a Netflix show that isn't tainted by horrible sex stuff (oh god, please don't let that age badly). And brilliant use of the music from Vertigo, which perfectly straddles the line between romantic and creepy like no other composer has managed since. Though given how upset some people got at its use in The Artist, I'm curious what they make of this. Wednesday, Enid, and Agnes are now fully in messy love triangle territory, and they'd all be a lot happier if they just admit their feelings. And I'll admit I never got that invested in the mystery of the crow master; it's kind of the Veronica Mars Season 3 issue where the suspects are all so similar that it feels like there's no point caring who it is. And you knew there had to be a reason they cast a seemingly innocuous character with someone like Heather, so that wasn't much of a surprise after the others were set up as obvious red herrings in the chase scene. But at least we get a killer climax out of it with Fester making some spectacular use of his powers. You think you used enough dynamite there, Butch? And Heather's reaction is beautiful; clearly her brother Randy never had any advice about a situation like this. It really says something about how much Christina's made this character her own that I never once thought about how I was seeing another Wednesday during the episode, though it's kind of too bad Dort wasn't there to say "Hey, that's your name." Another case where it feels like she wasn't able to give the season much time after last episode ended with that giant tease of her being back only to immediately kill her off, and I'm very amused that there was clearly a conversation something like "I don't care how awkward it is, we need to have a long, lingering shot of her dead body or everyone will just assume she survived again." That said, the crew have stated that they're open to bringing her back again, given the aforementioned myriad of ways the show has established for that to happen. I also have to say that much as I'm usually on board for this show's genre-bending music covers, this one did make me a bit uncomfortable after I've read about how much the Cranberries hate it when people use the song to refer to literal zombies, instead of the very serious political issues they intended. The good news about the reactions being delayed this long is you don't need to sit through any gap before the second half, which includes easily my choice for the show's best episode so far, which I have a very hard time imagining the show topping. And you'll know which one it is from literally the very first second. Every reaction to it has been gold, and I've been eagerly awaiting yours most of all.
Ryan
2025-09-17 23:40:06 +0000 UTCStart by acknowledging that there is no worry on being behind on this show, as I’m as far as this episode as of my writing this comment. I will catch the next episode tonight; save that for a bedtime story. Good mid-season spot to leave it on for a cliffhanger. Love finally seeing the icon that is Joanna Lumley as Grandmama. I heard over a year ago, perhaps longer that Joanna would be playing Grandmama, and the immediate response was to say in gleeful anticipation, “Someone please hold me, I may faint.” Oh, I am loving her in this, even if it is increasing the mother and daughter tension in more ways than one. Leads to Morticia throwing the book in the fire. Kind of respect the decision given the circumstances, though tis a shame about the book. We do share feeling bad for Morticia. The withered old, blackened ticker of mine does go out to her. Catherine is phenomenal. Just as phenomenal is the big highlight that is the return of Fred as Uncle Fester. We have touched on quite a bit of magic with Fred as Uncle Fester. I’m a bit of a nerd with his alias, saying, “I believe that his name happens to be pronounced Diabolique!!” Love the praise you gave him. Delightful to share your reactions to Uncle Fester/Louise. The connection, it’s happening, what a love story, as you say. I’ll ship it. We’re simpatico on the investment in that love story. We also touch on Bianca and her mom. Nice that Ajax helped her, and he seems to be in better spirits after the past few episodes. Ok, I guess now that he and Enid had a talk, Ajax is now taking the break up like a man. All right. Complaints retracted. Sucks that Dort is an ass to Bianca, love your response to that. Though he was a smooth, smooth with his fire moves against the birds, you know? During that scene, heartwarming to see your concern for Thing and we love Enid saving him. Wednesday fails to catch the speedy culprit in the act, and when it came to her suspects, I cheekily did the Timothy Dalton impression, “How could they possibly be in two places at once?” and I sort of knew that was going to payoff. Like the words you spared for Agnes. Agnes is a useful tool. She keeps creeping a bit with the complete lack of boundaries. Love how she gets the wake-up call that her feeble skills are no match for the POWER of Uncle Fester. And she graciously accepts the pro-tips, which she hopefully puts to good use before she pays the price for her lack of vision. And by the way, yes, the subtext of Uncle Fester having the line about child labor is not lost on me. I share the hope that Agnes finds her identity. Laurel had the time of trying to play the situation like a goddamn fiddle, and you were not having it. Love how you had the response to Enid’s big scene of wanting to be part of the plan. Leads to the big question asked, which... See, I’m the asshole here, in that I point out Wednesday failed to answer the question of did she still wish to be Enid’s friend. The answer, “That has never been in question.” does not answer the question as it is vague and misleading. It’s a simple yes or no question. Jesus, I’m sounding like my aunt, rest her soul. Now, to be fair, Wednesday does include Enid in the scheme, albeit in a safer part of it, because she loves her so much. And you find the moment sweet, which is nice. Kicks up a notch when Wednesday hitches the ride in Capri’s trunk. Wednesday and I shared the sort of look that one has when hearing the song about giving one’s love a cherry that had no stone, when hearing Capri sing. In this episode, Capri is rather passionately singing All By Myself. ...Nah. Not touching that one either. Still too easy. Loved you kind of dancing to it, whilst getting the good laugh over Wednesday’s expression. You compliment Billie’s looks. They are pretty good. And thanks to Uncle Fester getting the code, which we both predicted, they discover the truth about LOIS which is not a person. Just like you called, Jess, you’re so smart. It reveals Dr. Fairburn’s villainous nature, and we discover Judi is the avian. Somewhat called that one. I was starting to suspect her for the same reason that Laurel became a prime suspect last season. How the show kept having her pop up so as to remind you that she’s still there, yet there’s otherwise no noticeable arc nor character focus. Add this with the notable actress, the gears click a bit. Pretty fucked up, the schemes are. It’s all quite low, even for Uncle Fester as he says. I’m inclined to concur. I mean, hey, I’m into some freaky shit myself, but even I have my limitations. Madness abounds when Slurp got loose. You call Slurp out for how he keeps eating people. ...That’s bad? He has a bite, a little nosh on his old pal. This after killing Dr. Fairburn. ...Honestly, a better deal for her than getting roped into recreating the plot of Notorious with Tom Cruise and Dougray Scott. The one Miss Mystery Patient, I did hear something about fan response theorizing that she’s Ophelia, making me say, “Wait, really?” Didn’t think that myself, though I see you thought it might have been Ophelia, and I think you make a great point about it not being her. Because if it is, as you say, Uncle Fester would recognize her, which he did not. See how that plays out. Shame about Laurel, though I love your reaction to when Laurel and Wednesday cross each other’s paths in the hall, and the stare shared. Quite the surreal experience for them: It’s like looking in a mirror, only, not. Had a surprised look when you called out Laurel’s wig as being terrible. Looked all right to me, but I confess that I’m no expert. Laurel does make a good effort to get Tyler back on her side. Fatal mistake with the choice of words as he took her up on what she said. After all, she stated correctly that Wednesday is in the building, and you say to Tyler, “Yeah, she’s right there. You’re talking to her and everything.” And it ends up with her being run through by Tyler’s claws. Even with being given the head start to run, and jump, and skip, alas, it does no good. It does look like her number’s up, but with all the advances in modern medicine, I’d say she’s got a fighting chance to pull a “Somehow, Laurel returned.” surprise, thus allowing us the gift of more Christina and her beautiful wickedness in this show. One can only hope. We follow the scene up with one of the funniest moments of the show: Uncle Fester and Louise having the romantic parting of the ways. Uncle Fester and Louise having the grand romantic kiss complete with the Scene D’Amour playing had me cackling. Horrible state that Wednesday’s in after Tyler catches up with her. Like Orloff said, she attracts such darkness. Wednesday called it a gift, and I say, “No, no, Wednesday, it’s a gift, and a curse.” See how things go for her when I see the next episode and beyond, which now includes the tension of Tyler being set free, which, well, Kingpin and Vanessa could capitalize on it for their anti-vigilante platform. All in all, a lovely reaction to Wednesday, and as of the latest Daryl and Carol reaction, I think you’ve just about got it, new camera setting-wise, so that won’t be a problem for the next batch of reactions. Thank you for the fantastic reaction, Jess.
Thomas Corp
2025-09-17 21:48:02 +0000 UTC
